Tsunami and Disaster Management Law and Governance

"The editors and authors of this book deserve all credit for putting together a very timely publication. The book provides law, policy and governance perspectives on disaster management and will be received with great interest not only among people working in the field of disaster management, but also other related areas including humanitarian agencies, academics and NGOs".

Excerpts from the Foreword by Ramesh Thakur
Senior Vice Rector, United Nations University (UNU), &
Assistant Secretary General, United Nations

"The ability of individuals and organisations to respond effectively to natural disasters depends on many things. The tsunami that ravaged many Asian countries in 2004 provided an important window for the world to learn about what truly matters in strengthening a community's preparedness to meet crises when they hit. This book helps us to remember and learn from the tsunami and to better understand the many aspects involved in disaster management".

Christine Loh
Chief Executive, Civic Exchange, &
Co-Chair, Human Rights in China, Hong Kong

The International Conference on Issues Relating to Disaster Management: Challenges for Governance Reform in Asia was held at the School of Law, City University of Hong Kong in March 2005. The success of this conference eventually lead to this work Tsunami and Disaster Management: Law and Governance and is a collaborative effort by fifteen internationally renowned academics, practitioners and disaster management experts who also presented at this conference. This work highlights thematic issues relating to disaster management and their implications for governance reform in Asia and beyond. Critical examination of the legal and governance issues, assessment of the level of preparedness in the countries that have been affected by the South-east Asia earthquake and its impact on the workings of public and private institutions on ways to improve responsiveness, availability of aid and relief and working with victims are just some of the many issues covered.

The fifteen chapters in this work are organized in three parts. Part One of this work focuses on Governance Perspectives on Disaster Management: Law, Theory and Practice. Part Two gives more insight on Disaster Management and Victims'Rights: Remedies and Community-Based Initiatives. Part Three further discusses Disaster Management, Humanitarian Relief and Rehabilitation: Regional Perspectives.